As part of the Premier League’s ‘More Than A Game,’ campaign, Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi returned to his grassroots club Cray Wanderers to visit their brand new stadium.
All 20 Premier League clubs will be partaking in the ‘More Than A Game,’ campaign over the next two weeks, highlighting the positive impact of Premier League's investment into communities and all levels of football.
The League has invested £1.6billion into wider football, the grassroots game and wider communities between 2022 and 2025, including funding for community projects run by 164 professional and non-league clubs.
They have also been supporting people of all ages who need it most, as well as providing much-needed funding to non-league, grassroots and women’s clubs to enhance stadium facilities for players and fans.
One of the grassroots clubs to benefit is Cray Wanderers, in south east London, where Guéhi started his footballing journey. He visited their brand new stadium, Flamingo Park, which was built with the help of a £150,000 contribution from the Premier League Stadium Fund.
“It’s so good to be back,” Guéhi said upon returning to Flamingo Park. “I’m really happy to be here to be honest - it’s somewhere where I used to come and play games as a young kid.
“This wasn’t even here! The pitches were long-ways and there were loads of mini pitches everywhere and they had a main pitch around the back, but this is really nice - the facilities are amazing.
Guéhi played for the Wands from 2007-2009, before joining Chelsea’s Academy where he continued his development. He then earned two loan moves to Swansea City before joining Palace in the summer of 2021.
During his visit, he was greeted by his former coach Steve Owen and Cray Wanderers CEO Sam Wright.
“It was nice [to see Steve Owen], it was a little bit emotional, he’s someone I’ve not seen in a long time. He’s someone that’s helped me in my journey, I’m eternally grateful to him and to Steven Campbell, one of my other coaches as well.
“They’ve all helped me to get to where I am today and just seeing him as brought back good memories, which is really nice.”
Guéhi’s coach Owen added: "He's bigger, stronger and taller now but honestly Marc still plays with exactly the same style he did as a child,"
"He's calm, intelligent and such a naturally talented defender, playing with his head up and with brilliant timing and tackles.
“He was very focused, determined, he made the hard stuff look easy. His timing was impeccable for a young kid. He wasn’t a flair player, he was just solid in his determination to win a ball, make a tackle and make a pass. He was top drawer.”
Since the year 2000, when Guéhi was born, more than 1,000 clubs playing in 100 divisions throughout the men's and women's football pyramid in England and Wales have received grants from the Premier League Stadium Fund totalling more than £200 million.
Cray Wanderers being one of those clubs receiving some of those funds have managed to build an impressive ground in Flamingo Park, with a 250-seat covered stand, all-weather astroturf pitch and LED floodlights.
"We’ve never had a permanent home until this stadium was built," Cray Wanderers CEO Sam Wright said. "The £150,0000 funding we received from the Premier League was crucial to the project. We are grateful for the support.
"We are incredibly proud of the stadium, which we think definitely stands out at our level of football in the Isthmian League Premier Division. It's the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of brilliant people. This is phase one of our stadium development, we have plans to add another stand as part of phase two.
"I played for the club myself when I was 18-years-old and it is incredible and inspiring for our young players from Under-7s all the way up to play in these facilities, knowing there's a Premier League captain and England international in Marc Guéhi, who has started out here at Cray Wanderers and made that dream journey."